Dan Webster beats Val Demings, wins second term

Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Webster withstood a barrage of attack ads to win a second term in Congress, besting former Orlando police Chief Val Demings in a race that drew at least $5 million in spending from outside groups.

The 63-year-old small businessman from Winter Garden credited God, his family and a positive campaign for winning the battle for Florida's 10th Congressional District.

It was "a campaign that was positive. A campaign that was truthful. A campaign that rejected the Washington playbook. A campaign that turned the other cheek — even when we were running out of cheeks," Webster said in a victory speech at the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel, where family and supporters gathered to celebrate.

Demings called Webster to concede the race after Webster had already declared victory. It was a night of highs and lows for Demings; her husband, Jerry Demings, was re-elected Orange County sheriff.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's political action committee, Independence USA, dumped $2.3 million into TV and radio spots that slammed Webster as an entrenched politician beholden to lobbyists. Most of the money came in the final week before Election Day.

The money was a clear sign that progressive groups saw Webster as vulnerable and the newly drawn district as a potential pickup for the Democrats.

But there was negative campaigning from the conservative side, too. The American Action Network spent $1.2 million to portray Demings as a tax-and-spend Democrat.

Both candidates are household names in their hometowns — Webster because of his decades in the Legislature, Demings because of her frequent TV news appearances as police chief. But each one had to work hard to attract voters outside Orange County, including northern Polk County and much of Lake County.

Though Demings and PACs that supported her far outspent Webster, the district favors him. Republicans outnumber Democrats by about five percentage points.

Webster is a quiet campaigner who spent 28 years in the Florida Legislature before voters sent him to Congress in 2010. He stuck to the message that helped him beat Democrat U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson two years ago: Federal spending is out of control and should be reined in.

Demings generally stuck to the Democratic Party's platform. But on the campaign trail in a conservative district, she spoke often about her willingness to buck her party.

In the end, the vote was close in Orange and Polk counties — Webster won Orange; Demings led in Polk. But Webster's strong showing in Lake County gave him a big margin.